Later
by BridgitKiido
Summary: AU. He had been written off the show, and tonight had been his last night. His friends, however, weren't quite ready to say goodbye. Oneshot, spoilers for episode 148.


**Later  
**by BridgitKiido

Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own GX. If I did… I'm not sure what would happen, actually. More than likely, Fubuki would have actually _shown up_ in the first half of season 3… at least once…

Timeline Notes: This takes place shortly after episode 148. Heavy spoilers ahoy.

* * *

"And… cut! Okay, that's a wrap for today, everyone," came the director's voice over the megaphone. The camera operators each turned their equipment off in turn to save power as the duelists walked out of the filming area, being careful not to trip over the set.

Ryo Marufuji sighed as he looked one last time over his dressing room, making sure that he was leaving nothing of his behind. Satisfied, he reached down, grabbed his suitcase, and exited the room for the last time. He wanted to leave quickly, to not let anyone say goodbye. It was too painful for him to leave any other way.

After all, being a part of the cast had been his entire life's work for the past three years.

He passed through the hallway silently, attempting to remain invisible as the crew said their good nights to one another. He had nearly made it to the exit without attracting any attention, when…

"Hey, Ryo."

Said voice belonged to Johan Andersen, who was leaning against the wall right by the exit. He had obviously been to his dressing room recently, as instead of the outfit that he was currently supposed to wear during filming, he was wearing his favorite blouse and vest. Ryo didn't blame him for changing; somehow, his outfit on set didn't seem too comfortable.

"Hey, Johan," Ryo replied quietly, acknowledging the boy's presence before continuing his way out the door. But the other blunet spoke again.

"I was wondering if you'd come with me to dinner tonight. You know, since it's your last day and all."

Apparently, Johan was still feeling guilty about the latest episode, in which he had, effectively, been the one to kill Ryo off. The European boy was trying to hide it as best he could, but his eyes gave it away.

Ryo stopped walking and replied with a slight smile, "You know, it's not your fault. Blame the writers. They're the ones that wrote the script. Besides, I had a good run."

"I wasn't talking about what that," was Johan's response. "I just want to take you to dinner. Can't a guy do a nice thing for another guy once in a while?"

Ryo thought about it for a moment. He had wanted to just go home and be alone for a few hours, but it was nice on occasion to have companionship. And besides, he _was_ kind of hungry…

"Okay, I suppose I can come."

Johan smiled. "Great! I know just the place. Come on!" And with that, he took a slightly surprised Ryo by the arm and led him out the door.

* * *

Well, Johan certainly appeared to have good taste when it came to restaurants. Though how he knew that this one was Ryo's favorite, he couldn't be sure.

"Ah, Andersen-san," said the waiter as the two blunets entered the building. "Oh, and Marufuji-san, what a pleasure. Right this way, please."

The waiter led them to a back room that Ryo had never been in before. The door was closed, with no indication of what was on the other side. Even the lights inside appeared to be off. "Here we are. Please, have a seat, and someone will be in momentarily," the man continued as he opened the door to the dark room.

To Ryo's surprise, Johan appeared to be neither unhappy nor even concerned at all about the fact that the room was pitch black. In fact, it was as though he had planned it this way. But he had little time to dwell on this fact, as Johan slipped quietly into the room, pulled him inside by the arm, and turned on the lights.

"SURPRISE!"

Ryo blinked for a moment in shock, attempting to take it all in. The room was decorated as though for a party, with balloons, streamers, and paper table centerpieces shaped like dragons. And, everyone from the cast was there (except Darkness the bat, who had moved to a cave in the mid-western United States after the eighty-ninth episode was finished filming; he occasionally wrote to say that he was doing fine and apparently liked it there, though the humans that rode through on strange cars were very loud), slightly ragged from hiding under the tables, but otherwise apparently having a good time.

"We figured, since it was your last day and all," Judai began.

"…and since you've been a very important member of the cast for so long," Fubuki added.

"…we'd hold a going away party for you," Edo finished. "The Tenjoins made most of the decorations, and Sho said that this restaurant was your favorite."

"It was mostly Johan's idea," Jun mentioned, to which Johan merely smiled.

"And now that the guest of honor is here," Samejima continued, holding up a glass of sparkling cider, "I propose a toast, to Kaiser Ryo!"

Everyone else held up their own glasses of cider and echoed, "To Kaiser Ryo!"

* * *

"So, did you enjoy it?"

The party had ended a little while ago, but Ryo hadn't left yet. Nor, consequentially, had Johan, who had just sat down next to him.

"Huh?"

"Did you enjoy the party?"

Ryo smiled a thankful smile. "Yeah, I did."

Johan smiled back. "That's good." And after a pause, "So… what are you going to do now?"

Ryo leaned back. "I don't know. I'm probably going to try to find a job somewhere else. With my experience, it shouldn't be too hard to find a role in a different show. Until then, though… I don't know."

The pair sat in silence for a few minutes, and then Ryo stood up. "Well, I'm going to go home now."

"Okay then," was Johan's reply. "See you later, Ryo."

"Yeah, Johan. See you later."

And with that, he left.

* * *

_In Memoriam  
__Marufuji "Hell Kaiser" Ryo  
__July 15, 2007  
__Free from his bondage forever_


End file.
